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Downtown Atlanta District Developments


ironchapman

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That's where I was thinking it would go. I googled the location and it will fit in nicely. I'm also glad to hear of their "leed" intentions. I'm a little iffy on the architect but I will withhold my thoughts until we see a render. Also, I would not expect any earth shattering design from the structure. It's a fair trade off though. I'm actually pleased to see that a Japanese chain is just as bullish on the Atlanta market as some of the luxury hoteliers are. This is great news. This could also be a great opportunity to bring increased people downtown. When that happens, more retail follows...followed by more living domicles.

I'm definitely not sad to see that parking lot go.

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I agree we shouldn't expect anything spectacular with a no frills hotel or from this architect. I would be happy with something similar to the Hilton Garden Inn.

I'm just delighted to see some new development in the Farlie-Poplar district.

They say that the hotel will contain no restaurants, etc, but hopefully they'll still stick in a retail space or two on the ground floor.

Both Forsyth and Luckie streets are designated as "storefront streets" which doesn't specifically require retail but the street level must have the characteristics of retail storefronts. So its very likely to have street level retail.

Additionally, being in the Farlie-Poplar historic district brings more specific storefront requirements and projects must be reviewed by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.

Edited by Martinman
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Georgia State University has been such a tremendous boost to the downtown area. Putting dorms in the area is doing wonders for the area. It's amazing to see the transformation. Because of the increase in students in downtown, the retail and dining options are getting marketedly better. I also like how GSU adds some form of retail to the bottom of their dorms. This not only engages the street but it also adds to the livability of the area. I applaude them for their continued support of the downtown district.

Now to the Castleberry district.

For those of us old enough or who have lived here long enough to remember what Castleberry used to look like, the new Castleberry is just short of an all out miracle. I love what has taken place in the area. With increased density, it could become one of Atlanta's most sustainable enclaves.

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Slight correction:

The dorm project that GSU will build next is across Piedmont from this one on the NW corner of Piedmont and Edgewood. I haven't seen a rendering but it'll have around 300 freshman dorms and 3-story townhomes for the Greek organizaitons.

Here's a rendering of the GSU's next dorm project which will be on Edgewood Ave.

GSUdorm2.jpg

GSUdorm1.jpg

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Slight correction:

The dorm project that GSU will build next is across Piedmont from this one on the NW corner of Piedmont and Edgewood. I haven't seen a rendering but it'll have around 300 freshman dorms and 3-story townhomes for the Greek organizaitons.

What is the status of this project?...

My understanding was that the next dorm was actually going across Piedmont from this location...

I can't imagine the UDC will let them tear down the esiting GSU Sculpture Bldg.?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

What is the status of this project?...

My understanding was that the next dorm was actually going across Piedmont from this location...

I can't imagine the UDC will let them tear down the esiting GSU Sculpture Bldg.?

The GSU Freshman Hall project is on the northwest corner of Edgewood and Piedmont (parcel address of 20 Piedmont Ave. NE) which was previously a surface parking lot. They broke ground last February. The lovely brick building cited above is 148 Edgewood which is owned by GSU as well, but doesn't appear to be slated for demolition. Hopefully they will do some adaptive re-use. The 'special interest' housing, AKA frat (town)houses, will sit on the property between 148 Edgewood and Freshman Hall. On the GSU map image below, Freshman Hall is #11, 148 Edgewood is #10, the special interest housing, #14

campusmap_rdax_720_rdax_550x558_100.jpg

Additional info from recent notes in the AJC:

Georgia State University
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^^ Piedmont in Downtown is quickly becoming nicely dense, urban corridor and GSU's other dorm project has already brought a lot of activity to the area. :thumbsup:

Elsewhere in Downtown...

GSU also recently purchased a 3.8-acre tract of land at 188 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. for a new practice complex for the Panthers football team. They intend to start construction "as soon as possible" and start practicing next fall.

It was reported in the ABC that 180 Peachtree (former Macy's redevelopment) has 22 letters of intent from retailers interested in the project, half of them restaurants. The expectation is that the economy will be improved by the time the project opens which will be in late 2009 at the earliest.

The city has bought several parcels of land for the future Capitol Mall / Park connecting the state capitol and Oakland Cemetary. Some more land is owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority and is set aside for the park. I even read that the bridge over the highway was designed to handle the weight of such a park so this might actually happen someday.

Edited by Martinman
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  • 3 weeks later...

That's pretty bad.....any word on the materials? If all of that is brick, it might be bearable, but 40 stories of EIFS. :sick:

Here's a real life rendition of what the building will look like in context to it's surroundings. It reminds me of a tenement building but I guess it serves it's purpose as a low cost, low frills lodging facility. When viewed like this it doesn't look so bad. It's tolerable I suppose. Of course it's the brown building next to the Equitable Building for those unfamiliar with the proposal or the location.

ToyokoInnskyline.jpg

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Here's a real life rendition of what the building will look like in context to it's surroundings. It reminds me of a tenement building but I guess it serves it's purpose as a low cost, low frills lodging facility. When viewed like this it doesn't look so bad. It's tolerable I suppose. Of course it's the brown building next to the Equitable Building for those unfamiliar with the proposal or the location.

ToyokoInnskyline.jpg

Ick....Just horrible. All of these rooms saturating the downtown market will keep a nicer product from coming in anytime soon.

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Surely you weren't expecting anything attractive out of a Japanese no-frills brand? Have you ever seen pictures of buildings in Japan?

At any rate. If this were the tallest building for miles around, or even for a quarter mile around, I'd say it's an eyesore. However, in the location where it's planned to go, it's hardly even noticeable. That makes its utterly utilitarian design completely (in my mind) forgivable. Modernists would be proud, too; it's a completely honest design. And unfortunately, the days when every new building is a flashy, eye-popping masterpiece of swooshy glass and shiny metal are gone, along with the days of the economic boom that ended in 2007.

To me, this is a welcome breath of pragmatism and economy, punctuating the end of a boom period characterized by extreme luxury and escalating excess.

I don't live in Atlanta, but I would welcome a similar building in my hometown with open arms (although 15 or 20 stories in Raleigh would be about comparable to 40 stories in Atlanta.)

861 rooms, though, that's humongous. I wonder if, even at the low cost they're planning, this hotel's business model will allow it to operate profitably with lowish occupancy (say 60%), but then have rooms to spare to rake in the dough in times of high demand, such as major conventions or sporting events. With no restaurant, no room service, and zero amentities, the only thing that would have to scale with the occupancy would be housekeeping and laundry.

I do hope it's something other than EIFS, though. Preferrably masonry, since that doesn't have to be painted.

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^^ Assuming its attractive at the street level, I welcome this development for some of the same reasons you mentioned. I would imagine that this will be a big hit with small business owners that come here for the trade shows.

As I mentioned earlier, Downtown's new zoning guidelines adopted last year include specific regulations for the Farlie-Poplar and Terminus districts. EIFS is not an option.

By the way, at 861 rooms, it'll only be the 6th largest downtown hotel.

Section 16-18A.020 (Specific regulations for subarea 6 and 7)

Facade.jpg

Edited by Martinman
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I like what you wrote Orulz. My sentiments for the most part exactly. I also don't think that this hotel would keep luxury hotels from locating downtown. This hotel and any 4-6 star hotel are in totally different leagues. If anything, the lack of amenities geared toward the upper hotel patron will keep another luxury flag from locating downtown. Also, luxury hotels tend to cluster around one another. Buckhead will always have that market pretty solid...with Midtown coming in second.

As to the hotel and it's appearance, I think Orulz hit the nail on the head. What would one expect from a no/low frills brand. Even more so, having been to NYC lately, I have seen apartment and hotel buildings that look pretty much the same and this is in Manhattan. We were in a building on West 52nd Street...from that vantage point, I saw some not so pretty buildings but boy were they functional. Eight hundred and sixty one rooms is alot of rooms to fill....and in the price point, I think that there will be a definite need for them. Atlanta is a convention town but not everyone has the money for the St Regis or the Mansion on Peachtree, the Ritz Downtwwn or even the Marriot Marquis....in this economy I would think that some may even baulk at the Loews, the Palomar and the Twelve Centennial Park. This will definitely add to the lodging possibilites mere steps from many of Atlanta's tourist locations.

Dining options will not be a problem if the person lodging in this building do their homework. There are many quaint eateries in the Fairlie Poplar district...also CNN Center is a few blocks away...also Allen Plaza. Adding this many people to the area can only be a win win for the local eateries as well as retail in the area. Also, there will be street level enhancements. As Orulz said, if this was an 80 story building perhaps design would need to trump function...it's a nice infill project that will bring people downtown. My final words this post is simply.....only one hotel per district please.

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GSU recenlty broke ground on their football practice facility at 188 MLK Drive.

Heres some more projects planned for the downtown area. I like most of them so hopefully they'll get built someday.

Mason Mitchell

MasonMithcell.png

Railside in Castleberry Hill

Railside.jpg

Butler Street MUD

ButlerStreetMUD.jpg

222 Mitchell (adaptive reuse of old Norfolk Southern buildings)

image_building_2.jpg

301 Memorial

301Memorial.jpg

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GSU recenlty broke ground on their football practice facility at 188 MLK Drive.

Heres some more projects planned for the downtown area. I like most of them so hopefully they'll get built someday.

Mason Mitchell

MasonMithcell.png

Railside in Castleberry Hill

Railside.jpg

Butler Street MUD

ButlerStreetMUD.jpg

222 Mitchell (adaptive reuse of old Norfolk Southern buildings)

image_building_2.jpg

301 Memorial

301Memorial.jpg

I agree with you Martinman. Driving around the city, I have seen many developments like these above being built. Even in this most trying time. As much as we laud skyscrapers....well some of us anyway, it is developments like those above that are going to enrich the urban environment of the city. They are also taking away spots that were underutilized. Although from a speeding highway they can't be seen, these midrise developments will definitely shape the Atlanta urban fabric for some time to come.

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